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Develops an integrated place-based understanding of sustainability, participation, and civil society, using the power cube framework across national, municipal, neighbourhood, and gender-based dimensions. Documents methodological stages, positionality, ethics, and data production, including Covid-19 and post-fire organising.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/","Presentations",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/power-dynamics-and-subalterns-organising-in-an-informal-settlement-a-participatory-action-research-in-south-africa/179541/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/power-dynamics-and-subalterns-organising-in-an-informal-settlement-a-participatory-action-research-in-south-africa/179541.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Evangeline","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document","2026-10-20","2026-09-02",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",11,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What research approach and study setting guide the thesis?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The study uses participatory action research and focuses on organising in South Africa’s informal settlement context, with fieldwork in Magangeni.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the thesis explain power dynamics affecting subaltern organising?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It analyses power across multiple levels and dimensions, applying the power cube framework to identify spaces and forms of visible, hidden, and invisible power.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How are gender-based violence and the pandemic incorporated into the analysis?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Gender-based violence is examined through levels, spaces, and forms of power, followed by attention to women’s organising trajectories. The pandemic is treated as an organising context shaped by lockdown restrictions and related epistemic violence.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},179541,1791726001,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,87,92,97,102,107,112,117,122],{"id":55,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":85,"slug":86},90,"presentations",{"id":88,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":93,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":98,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":99,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":101},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":103,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":104,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":106},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":108,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":109,"show_sort_weight":110,"slug":111},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":113,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":116},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":118,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":123,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":125},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":127},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":128,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":22,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":140,"read_time":85},13056703019662,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/be000253a8e92610077?_k=1778726343310543188","POWER DYNAMICS AND SUBALTERNS’ ORGANISING IN AN INFORMAL SETTLEMENT: A PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA\nBy: Juan Pablo Winter Sepúlveda\nA thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of\nDoctor of Philosophy\nThe University of Sheffield\nFaculty of Social Sciences\nSchool of Management\nMarch 2022\nTable of Contents\nPage\nAbstract\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t9\nAcknowledgements\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t10\nList of Abbreviations\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t12\nChapter I- Introduction\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t13\nResearch background\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t13\n1.1.1 The Other’s representation and discourse\t\t\t\t\t\t\t13\n1.1.2 The South African administrative division and the ward committees\t\t\t16\n1.2 Research process and contributions to knowledge\t\t\t\t\t18\n1.2.1 The research origins\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t18\n1.2.2 Data production in different stages\t\t\t\t\t\t\t19\n1.2.3 Change of plans: The Covid-19 outbreak\t\t\t\t\t\t\t21\n1.3 Research question and aims\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t22\n1.4 Structure of the thesis\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t23\nChapter II- The omissions of the subalterns and informality in mainstream CMS\t\t26\n2.1 The exclusion of the subalterns\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t27\n2.1.1 The epistemic violence dilemma of subaltern women\t\t\t\t\t29\n2.2 The Subaltern Urbanism Paradigm\t\t\t\t\t\t\t30\n2.3 The political and contended meanings of participation\t\t\t\t\t32\n2.3.1 Participation as a double-edged sword \t\t\t\t\t\t\t32\n2.3.2 The politics of participation in development\t\t\t\t\t\t34\n2.4 Conclusion\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t35\nChapter III- Toward an integrated and place-based oriented approach of the \t\t37\nsubaltern   organising\n3.1\tSustainability re-examined\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t38\n3.1.1 The social dimension of sustainability\t\t\t\t\t\t\t38\n3.1.2 A fully integrated application of sustainability\t\t\t\t\t\t41\n3.2 Civil Society Organisations for social change\t\t\t\t\t\t43\n3.2.1 Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs)\t\t\t\t\t\t43\n3.2.2 Community-Based Organisations (CBOs)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t46\n3.2.3 Social movements\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t47\n3.2.4 Beyond fixed organisational categories\t\t\t\t\t\t\t50\n3.2.5 Civil society as a space for counter- hegemonies\t\t\t\t\t\t51\n3.2.6 Analysing Civil Society: The ‘power cube framework’\t\t\t\t\t52\n3.3 The diverse and contingent politics of organising in informal settlements\t\t54\n3.3.1 Social action and community development\t\t\t\t\t\t\t54\n3.3.2 ‘Everyday resistance’ and ‘quiet encroachment’ \t\t\t\t\t\t56\n3.4. Conclusion\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t60\nChapter IV- Methodology\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t61\n4.1 Research philosophy and assumptions\t\t\t\t\t\t\t61\n4.2 The research question, aim and objectives\t\t\t\t\t\t64\n4.2.1 Research question\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t64\n4.2.2 Aim and objectives\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t67\n4.3. Methodology, ethics, and strategy\t\t\t\t\t\t\t67\n4.3.1 Critical participatory action research and the shift from emancipation to participation \t68\n4.3.2 Quality, Validity and Ethics in PAR\t\t\t\t\t\t\t70\n4.3.3 Challenges of PAR: building relationships and power-sharing \t\t\t\t72\n4.3.4 Narrative inquiry within PAR \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t74\n4.4 Fieldwork and data production\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t75\n4.4.1 My positionality\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t77\n4.4.1.1 My relationship with UTFS\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t78\n4.4.1.2 My relationship with the participants of Magangeni \t\t\t\t\t79\n4.4.2 The first of three stages of data production\t\t\t\t\t\t81\n4.4.3 Stage Two: the interpreter as a co-researcher\t\t\t\t\t\t87\n4.4.4 Stage Three: a team of co-researchers led from abroad\t\t\t\t\t88\n4.4.4.1 The remaining interviews\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t88\n4.4.4.2 Integrating participatory data collection and participatory analysis\t\t\t89\n4.4.5 Data analysis: Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis (CAQDA)\t\t\t94\n4.5 Conclusion\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t96\nChapter V- Power dynamics and the subalterns’ context in Magangeni\t\t\t97\n5.1 Power dynamics: Context and Findings\t\t\t\t\t\t\t98\n5.1.1 Levels of power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t102\n5.1.1.1 The national level of power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t102\n5.1.1.2 The municipal level of power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t104\n5.1.1.3 The neighbourhood level of power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t106\nThe municipal-neighbourhood power dynamics: The River Rehabilitation Project\t107\n5.1.1.5 CoI stakeholders \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t110\n5.1.2 Spaces of power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t113\n5.1.3 Forms of power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t116\n5.1.3.1 Visible forms of power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t117\n5.1.3.2 Hidden forms of power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t118\n5.1.3.3 Invisible forms of power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t119\n5.2 Analysis\t\t\t\t\t\t","cbCaistDA6M6Pe10","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaistDA6M6Pe10","docx",742130,257,"English","# Chapter I- Introduction\n## Research background\n## Research process and contributions to knowledge\n## Research question and aims\n## Structure of the thesis\n# Chapter II- The omissions of the subalterns and informality in mainstream CMS\n## The exclusion of the subalterns\n## The Subaltern Urbanism Paradigm\n## The political and contended meanings of participation\n# Chapter III- Toward an integrated and place-based oriented approach of the subaltern organising\n## Sustainability re-examined\n## Civil Society Organisations for social change\n## The diverse and contingent politics of organising in informal settlements\n# Chapter IV- Methodology\n## Research philosophy and assumptions\n## Methodology, ethics, and strategy\n## Fieldwork and data production\n# Chapter V- Power dynamics and the subalterns’ context in Magangeni\n## Power dynamics: Context and Findings\n## Analysis\n# Chapter VI- Gender-Based Violence and organising in Magangeni informal settlement\n## Self-identified challenges\n## Analysis\n# Chapter VII- Power dynamics and subalterns organising amidst the pandemic\n## Self-identified challenges\n## Analysis\n# Chapter VIII: Power dynamics and organising after the fire\n## Narrative accounts of the fire","[{\"question\":\"What research approach and study setting guide the thesis?\",\"answer\":\"The study uses participatory action research and focuses on organising in South Africa’s informal settlement context, with fieldwork in Magangeni.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the thesis explain power dynamics affecting subaltern organising?\",\"answer\":\"It analyses power across multiple levels and dimensions, applying the power cube framework to identify spaces and forms of visible, hidden, and invisible power.\"},{\"question\":\"How are gender-based violence and the pandemic incorporated into the analysis?\",\"answer\":\"Gender-based violence is examined through levels, spaces, and forms of power, followed by attention to women’s organising trajectories. The pandemic is treated as an organising context shaped by lockdown restrictions and related epistemic violence.\"}]","POWER DYNAMICS AND SUBALTERNS’ ORGANISING IN AN INFORMAL SETTLEMENT - A PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH IN SOUTH AFRICA | DOCX",1788337351]